Two Years Later
by Mr.J.Valentine
Summary: Set two years later after the Tartaros incident. Magnolia has regained some sense of normalcy well as normal as it can be with the strongest guild ,Fairy Tail, around. With a few new additions to the guild and a long lost ice mage we're in for a wonderful new adventure filled with action, romance and comedy(hopefully).
1. Chapter 1

**Two Years Later**

It has been two years since the Tartaras incident, and Magnolia has returned two it regular state. With the reconstruction of the cathedral and the Fairy tail guild hall. Well there were a few differences. Firstly the absences of the FT guild's resident ice mage and the addition of two new guild members Rose and Sky. Everything was normal well as normal as fairy tail could be. Gajeel and Natsu were duking it out surrounded by their other guild members, when the doors swung open to reveal a young blond boy and pink haired girl.

The blond boy, Sky, had an extreme annoyed look on his face while Rose the pinket was pouting. They went to the bar where they were greeted by the extremely cheerful and beautiful Mirajane. "So how was the mission guys". She was met by an exasperated sigh then Rose finally responded. "Sorry Mira we failed".

"Huh! Really",

"Well kind of", this earned rose a very quizzical look from Mira which resulted in Sky finally speaking up.

"The wyverns were defeated but we couldn't take the reward". Mira gave him another questioning look that was really pissing him off."We couldn't accept the prize money cause that damn shirtless bastard was the one that took them all out". All the guild members within earshot jaws dropped. Rose and Sky were then bombarded by questions from many of the guild members. Lucy who had been listening to their conversation had made her way to the head of the group and was trying to calm everyone down. Rose at this point was exceptionally pissed off and decided to end the situation. She used her gravity magic to make all of them float weightlessly into the air. Then she made the all crash into the floor by increasing the gravity to three times its normal levels.

"HEY WHAT'S THE DEAL ROSE!" an enraged fire dragon slayer roared, after having his fifth brawl of the day interrupted. He was able to get away with this cause the guild's resident queen was out on a mission. Lucy who had stood up and was massaging her bruised hind quarters motioned for Natsu to be quiet. She then asked Rose to explain what happened on their mission.

**One Day Before**

Sky let out an exasperated sigh. He was growing tired of this mission. He and Rose had been searching for a rare type of Vulcan that were running amuck in the East forest, but what was really getting to him was how he had to do all the work. Not only was he forced to use his mind's eye magic to track down all the animals in the area he, he also had to clear a path for her royal highness, Rose. His white trousers were scuffed with mud, his white shirt sleeves were rolled to relieve him from the heat. His hair was slicked back to keep his long bangs from sticking to his moist forehead. He decided to look behind him and instantly regretted it. There was his so called partner staring into space with a convenient umbrella floating over head and a half empty bottle of some pink drink floating at her side.

He approached her and was prepared to give her a piece of his mind when he received a serious blow to his back. He looked up to see boulders spinning around him and then he heard rose shout the name of a spell that was inaudible to him but the result was obvious. All the debris and trees were sent flying into the sky. What was left was at least forty huge and muscular black vulcans. Sky was now terrified this was way beyond what they were prepared for and he could hear Rose panting from exhaustion. They were surrounded in all directions, Rose was hardly in any condition to fight and his magic could only target a few enemies at a time. He himself was hardly in any condition to fight having been using his power for the whole day. He would love to run away but that wasn't an option and even if it was an option he was a fairy tail wizard and there's no way he would ever disgrace his guild. He was fully prepared to begin the battle when the most curious thing drifted in front of him, a snowflake.

Suddenly the improvised clearing was engulfed in a freak snow storm. At the epicenter of the blizzard was the tall silhouette of a tall muscular man. It was hard to make out any of his distinct features but there seemed to be something emitting a faint blue light. The origin of the light seemed to be a distinct mark that was on the stranger's right hand. On closer observation sky realized it was a tattoo. A loud roar sounded and he and Rose were brought back to reality all the black vulcans were converging on the ice wizard. "Absolute Zero", it was barely audible but they both heard it the voice of their savior. It was deep and raspy but also cool and calm but what was most noticeable was the deafening silence. The roars of the beast could no longer be heard. But what they could see due to the snow clearing up were several ice sculptures of what seemed to be vulcans. "And then there were none", all of the statues shattered into tiny fragments that were barely visible. Sky looked to the wizard but was met only with the site of his retreating figure. There was a diagonal scar over his broad exposed back, seeing as he wasn't wearing a shirt.

Sky was already pissed that he had to be saved and by none other than this stripper freak but what really ticked him off was what he did next. The guy turned his head back to luck at him and he had the most self satisfied smirk on his face. Then he gave them a nonchalant wave and then vanished.

**Back at the present**

After hearing Rose recount the story to the rest of the guild Sky was pissed off once again, the image of that bastard's smirk fresh in his mind. It annoyed him even more seeing Rose blush when she brought up how he was half naked.

"So do you think it was him?" this time it was Cana who spoke up. She was her usually self clad in skin tight jeans and a bikini top her long brown lucks now reaching down to the base of her back. Long loop earrings dangling from her ears. "I think it was" Lucy responded. Sky had to admit he had a bit of a crush on Lucy. She was a perfect match for him. Her hair now in a bob cut with her bangs framing her face. She had on a tight blue top a black knee length skirt and her signature boots. "Aye" agreed Happy who was resting on Lucy's shoulder. A huge grin was plastered on Natsu's face when he said "Well lets go get the Popsicle back so I can KICK HIS ASS!"."YEA!" cheered all the members of the guild, well there were a few exceptions namely Lucy, Wendy, Cana and Mira?


	2. The Shadow of Ice

**The Shadow of Ice**

Natsu was growing ever more frustrated. He was hot on the trail of his old rival, who had suddenly disappeared two years prior. The master had told everyone not to worry but after the sixth month of Gray's absence, he himself seemed to be disturbed. For Natsu the guild just wasn't the same anymore. And it may be weird but he really missed the feeling of his fist on Gray's face.

Now as to why Natsu was so frustrated, it was due to his fellow teammates. The Gray retrieval team consisted of himself, Lucy, Cana, Happy and Juvia(whose return they had to wait for before their departure). Natsu was forced to slow his pace for Lucy and Cana as they were unable to keep up with him. Juvia as well seemed to be pushing herself to keep the intense pace they were moving at.

"Come on guys the longer we're stuck herthe further Gray gets. His scent is already getting fainter."

"Juvia agrees." She said this despite her haggard breaths.

"Come on Natsu you need to calm do-"

"HOW CAN YOU EXPECT BE TO BE CALM WHEN WE'RE SO CLOSE!"

They all began to remember their old friend which surprisingly caused tears to well up in Cana's eyes. There was an uncomfortable silence that elapsed, that is until a cool silky voice was heard. "Hey flame brain don't you better than to make a girl cry", all eyes were directed towards the origin of the voice.

"Gr..Gr..Gray Sama."

"Huh who's this Gray guy?" Now that they were all facing him he definitely looked like Gray. The black raven hair toned muscular body, dark blue eyes and most of all a smug overconfident grin plastered on his face. But there were some distinct differences: the absence of his silver chain, the absence of all Gray's scars and most of all the absence of the fairy tail insignia on his right pectoral.

Before anyone could think Natsu launched himself at proxy-Gray. Due to the suddenness of the attack it shouldn't have been able to dodge, but that wasn't the case. Natsu ended up crashing into the tree behind proxy-Gray while the mystery man stood in the same position he was in, completely unharmed. "Who the hell are you?" the question was directed to the mystery man by Natsu. The girls where now deeply confused, then Natsu said "You guys stay back. He may look like him, he may smell like him but that's definitely not Gray."

Lucy made eye contact with Cana who seemed to have a better understanding of the situation of the situation than she did. Cana gave her the signal for them to move back but then she caught a glimpse of Juvia. Juvia was clearly perplexed, in fact she seemed to be about to suffer a panic attack. Lucy seeing this ran to her friend and embraced her.

For the first time since his appearance the mystery man's smile disappeared, "Let's take this elsewhere." He motioned for Natsu to follow him which he did. Before leaving Natsu told them "not to worry".

As they arrived at a clearing Natsu spoke up, "this is good enough."

"Well if you say so." The stranger turned to face Natsu.

"So what is it you want from me flame brain"

"Who the hell are you and why do you smell so much like him?"

"I don't have a clue what you mean"

"Then I'll just beat the shit outa you and get my answers later"

The stranger let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't see how you getting your ass kicked is gonna get you any answers". Natsu had no more time "IRON FIST OF THE FIRE DRAGN!" The strike was about to land but the stranger side stepped him grabbed his wrist and easily flipped him into the air. Natsu's feet were ablaze and he used his flames to right himself in midair. He prepared his next attack. "ROAR OF THE FIRE DRAGON!" A humongous column of fire erupted from Natsu's mouth and engulfed the land below including the stranger, or so you'd think. Natsu still in midair felt a hand on his shoulder. He swerved around just in time to catch site of the stranger. A blue glowing tattoo wove its way around his right hand up to his shoulder, then diverged towards his eye and his chest.

The tattoo ended with it pointing at his right eye and his heart. Also there seemed to be a mini blizzard spiralling around him. Natsu was caught off guard and paid the price for it. The stranger's fist connected with his face and sent him rocketing towards the earth. When he connected with the ground there was a gigantic crater with Natsu at the centre. The surface of the crater was covered in smooth cold ice. Wait did Natsu seriously just think something was cold. He shook the taught from his mind and faced his opponent. "That was a ice punch droopy eyes, but time for round two." Golden bolts of lightning began to spring forth from his body. Natsu was ready to end this but things wouldn't go as he planned.

The mystery man turned away from him and began to walk away. "Hey what the hell-" the mystery man slightly turned his head ever so slightly just enough so he could make I contact.

"Sorry Natsu but you've already lost. Now taste Trishula's Fangs." Natsu feel a sharp pain in his cheek the type of pain you felt due to being in contact with something very cold. The pain was coming from his cheek from where he was punched. He touched it with his hand and when he looked at his fingers they were glazed white. The pain started to spread and with it the ice covering his body. He tried to fight it but his flames refused to appear. He succumbed to the spell and became an ice statue.

"See ya round squinty eyes". He may have won but his face wasn't that of a victor but of someone with many regrets.


	3. Cold Hearted?

**Cold Hearted?**

Lucy embraced the sobbing Juvia as her sobs relentlessly continued. They could hear the sounds of a great battle, and Lucy having grown used to it was able to sense Natsu's thunder flame power. What baffled her was its sudden disappearance, then without warning the rain began to pour. It was obviously due to Juvia's suffering as if all her pent up pain and frustrations were being released all at once.

Cana's dejected appearance wasn't much help. Her long brown locks were clinging to her skin and her eyes were over shadowed by her hair. "Wow this place is so gloomy with all this rain" the sudden intervention of the stranger's vice drew everyone's attention. "YOU!" Cana shouted at the Gray lookalike. He completely ignored her and went on with his plan.

"So whys a pretty girl like you crying." The stranger gave Juvia a warm smile that made both Lucy and Cana doubt whether he was their enemy. Juvia had stopped crying and was looking at the stranger with a transfixed expression.

"Gray Sama?"

"Sorry wrong guy I'm just a hollow man. But I am a gentleman so I can't leave a distraught girl in pain. So how bout this."

He stretched out his hand letting the water flow through the gaps in his hand. That is until there was no longer water falling into his palm but snowflakes. The rain clouds that Juvia had summoned now produced snowflakes. The raven haired stranger gave her a toothy grin in response to her own warm smile. Lucy herself felt as though she was intruding on a vary intimate moment well until Cana stepped forward.

"Where's Natsu?" the stranger smile faded and was replaced a stern look.

"Hmm and what if I don't feel like telling you hmm"

"Then I'll force you to tell me"

"Oh the irony" Cana gave him a quizzical look. He just continued oh "If you're talking about salamander I guess you could say he's dead w-"before he could continue Cana threw a card at him. Despite its high velocity he easily caught, that was not a smart move. Now surrounding him were ten glowing cards. They released strong beams of lights that were all directed to the card in his hands but not exactly. Ten deadly beams pierced his body and then the cards began to rotate dicing his body up.

Lucy looked on with an expression of shock and dread. But then the strangest thing happened his shattered body seemed to be made of ice and then the scattered pieces recollected and reformed his body. "You know you can't kill a hollow man that easily." Cana was petrified; she'd never before seen something like that. Now she really feared for Natsu's well being. She felt a flick to her forehead, it was him. She instinctively backed up a bit.

"Calm down Cana there's no way I could ever hurt you, that bastard would kill me. Anyway I have a message from an old friend of yours, don't bother to ask who it is. Just listen, he said stop chasing after him he can't ever return to that place again." He let out a sigh. "Well now that my jobs done I can finally go back to where I belong."

In an unknown town, there is a young man clad only in boxers carrying a large wooden beam. He has scars above his left eye, a cross shaped scar on his right abdomen and a certain guilds mark on his chest. "Hey kid, take that down the street to the old church." The 'kid' in question responded with a nod. While on his way to his destination he was ambushed by the local kids. "Hey aniki show us some magic!" they all shouted together.

"Hey you brats I'm not your slave you know" he gave them an annoyed glance.

"Anyway I can't right now… let's just say my magic is otherwise occupied." He gave them a look that told them he wanted them gone. Before they left they had one last question for him.

"Hey aniki what happened to your tattoo and why'd you bleach your hair."

"Hey why don't you kids leave your big bro alone huh." The kids said their last awes and were on their way.

"Sup Cassandra" standing before him was one of the most beautiful girls he had ever seen. She was an old friend of his since back when he was a toddler. They had been reunited five months ago and she was the reason he was staying in this town helping out with the town's reconstruction. He dropped of the beam and then proceeded to meet up with Cassandra.

"Why are you still here?"

"I could ask you the same thing"

"I'm different from you. I don't have anyone waiting on me"

"Can you stop bringing that up. I've already told you I can't return there. Not anymore."

"You still haven't told me why." He sighed.

"It's simple really I don't want to hurt someone special to me." He looked to his old friend; she too was someone very special to him. He took a good look at her it never stopped startling him how different she was now. Her long golden hair draping her shoulders her fair silky skin in contrast to her bright blue gown. Her delicate frame sat on and old crate and she was staring intently at him with her hazel coloured eyes. They had the look of someone deep in thought. "Do you miss them?" he knew that she wasn't referring to his old friends but to those they had both lost a long time ago.

"Every day"

"Please don't leave me behind again." He could hear the pleading in her voice and just couldn't deny her.

"Never"

Thank you Gray."


	4. I'm the One and ONLY GRAY FULLBUSTER

***This chapter is just leading up to a scene i'm really excited to wright and is devoid of any action. I hope it answers some of your questions about the story. And for those of you that were wondering this fic will have a lot of romance in it eventually. Something to look forward to is gray and Natsu going super saiyan. Just kidding or maybe i'm not. Thanks for the reviews and feel free to ask questions and make suggestions.  
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**I'm the one and ONLY GRAY FULLBUSTER**

"AAAAAAHHHHHHH!" A column of fire could be seen for miles. The origin of the great blaze was none other than fairy tail's own Natsu Dragneel using the power of his dragon force. "Stupid droopy eyes where the hell did you go!" Natsu shouted while frantically looking around with an enraged look on his face. "Can you keep it down, idiot" Natsu shifted his gaze to the speaker and noticed Cana, Lucy and Juvia standing there.

This time it was Lucy who spoke up "Come on Natsu we've been waiting for you to get up for hours. Cana was able to place a tracking spell on that guy that beat you."

"WHAT. WHO SAID I WAS BEATEN!"

They gave him what would best be described as an 'ah duh' look. But Natsu was too riled up to notice. "Well let's get going then. What are we waiting around for?" This time it was Juvia who decided to speak up. "We can't go because the course that man is taking leads straight to the town, Deliora." New Deliora is a town under reconstruction. It is situated in the cold mountainous lands of old Ishvan. It was so named as a sign of a new beginning for those who chose to settle in those lands. The land was long forgotten due to its dark history having been previously destroyed by none under than the Demon of Destruction. Many of the survivors had desired to reclaim their homelands but in the years of disuse a large amount of dangerous magical beast had claimed the towns as their territories. Until recently it had seemed impossible that is until he appeared. He's described as an exorcist and also as a demon. With his fearsome might he was single handily able to conquer all the beast territories. Those who witnessed the event hailed as 'The Calamity' cause nothing was left standing in his wake.

This man a kin to a calamity was also the reason why the girls were weary of going to Deliora. It was well known that any unwelcomed wizard that set foot in his territory would either never turn up again or come back with tales of seeing a great demon. They were even more reluctant if the Gray lookalike had anything to do with him (they would soon realise they were right to be scared.

"Who cares? If our friends there we just have to go bring him back." With that he gave them one of his famous wide toothy grins and they all couldn't help but return. They set off at a brisk pace with Cana in the lead. They were on their way to Deliora.

**City Deliora**

The white haired boy was in the middle of a conversation with his blonde friend then suddenly said he had to leave. "Huh why", he responded "Nothing special just have to go collect my other self, later." He waved goodbye and took his leave.

He made his way to a clearing and came face to face with a raven haired muscular man.

He began to speak "Took you long enough, don't you know we'll both die if we stay away from each other for too long".

"Yea yea. It couldn't be helped. I mean what did you expect? Using a spell of this level just to deliver a message to your old friends."

"Don't give me that. I would think the physical manifestation of my magic would be more reliable than this. To think you let two groups follow you." He let out a sigh.

"Like I said it couldn't be helped I ran into a pretty strong guy that wouldn't let me get away. The guy went as far as to put this scar on my back so he could track me down. Getting away would've been easy but then I had to use up a lot of magic to save these two little fairies. Then your old friends just had to come and get involved. That stupid sword guy was able to catch up with me thanks to them and I was way too stressed out to deal with him so I just headed hair. And it seems he's pretty close."

"Whatever someone of his level won't be a match for the calamity. Now return to me Maou Daedalous" with those words the raven haired boy turned into a large serpentine like creature made of what for lack of a better phrase blue flames. But instead of releasing heat everything in the surrounding area became glazed in ice that glistened like diamonds. The demonic looking spectral serpent lunged at the white haired boy who simply raised his right hand. Upon contact with his palm the serpent seemed to be sucked into his body until it was all gone. Standing now in the centre of the frost covered woods was the well toned white haired young man but with some significant differences. Firstly his right hand now bore the tattoo of the other young man. Secondly his hair was now as black as the midnight sky also his eye's pigment became a dark blue. Finally he now possessed an otherworldly aura about him.

"You can come out you know. I think we both know I'm your target."

Out of the shadows stepped a man clad in golden armour with a huge bastard sword on hanging at his side. The sword was huge but it seemed to be of normal size as the man was at least two heads taller than the young man. He had long blond hair and seemed to radiate the stature of a noble.

"I ran into that _thing_ by accident and sensed its strength. I marked it so I could face it later as a test of my abilities. But… I see now I was wrong he was but a portion of your might, Calamity King. I seek your death and to be king of these lands. I am Arthur Pendragon and I ask of you your name."

"Me, huh. I'm the one and only Gray Fullbuster, and it sounds to me like all your seeking is a beat down and I'll be happy to oblige. All you'll ever be king of is an icy grave."


	5. Demon Dance

***Well this is the longest chapter and in my opinion it's the best. I didn't bother to research some of the names i used so if you guys reading happen to know you message me leave a review. Thanks**

**P.S Gray doesn't use any demon slaying magic in this chapter. **

In an unknown area four companions are heading to Deliora. "We're very lucky that we have a dragon slayer with us, this should make tracking them simple" one of the females said. Another one of the four said "Thanks but I'm just glad to lend a hand, but I think we need to hurry the winds are being disturbed." Two of the female companions gave her a worried expression. They were reassured by the last of their companions as he said "No need to be scared when you have a REAL MAN! With you!" The man then let out a hearty berth of laughter.

**Forest Clearing Outside of Deliora**

The raven and the blond stared at each other. If someone were to see them they would think that they were witnessing two friends in a staring contest but they would be ignorant to the motionless battle unfolding between them, each looking for the opportunity to strike. It was Arthur that broke the stalemate. He suddenly vanished and then reappeared a few feet in front of Gray then he swung his sword with a speed that should be possible. The blade made contact with Gray's neck, a blow that should've sent his head rolling. Unfortunately what the blade came in contact with what felt like a steel wall. The place on his neck where the blade touched was coated in ice. Not his everyday ice but a special ice of his own creation that had even greater density and hardness than diamond.

Arthur vanished and reappeared at a safe distance. "You really are a monster if I didn't retreat there you would've killed me. Tell me are all the fairy tail wizards such monsters. I think once I'm finished killing you I'll have to pay them a vi-"He didn't get to finish his sentence be this time it was Gray who suddenly materialize in front of him and delivered a sucker punch to his jaw. This was no ordinary punch, Gray used his magic to freeze his arm and turn it into a practical wrecking ball. He wasn't done there either. The knight who was currently sailing through the woods leaving a trail of collapsed trees in his wake. Before he could recover Gray was on the assault again. His hand had defrosted almost instantly and his lower leg was frozen this time. He caught the knight with his foot by planting it under his chin, releasing a huge shock-wave. He didn't let up there next he gave dealt him a blow to the gut with his elbow, then he unleashed a salvo of punches. To the untrained eye his attacks wouldn't even be visible. In the few seconds that had passed by Gray had delivered over one hundred successive blows.

It wasn't over yet. Using his signature stance he used 'Ice Impact'. A huge ornate hammer appeared over Arthur's head and was about to crash into him. The hammer then suddenly disappeared after being cut in half. "I must praise it's been such a long time since I was overwhelmed by an opponent", Gray responded "Enough talk I won't let anyone who threatens my loved ones get away." Before Arthur could respond Gray was on the attack again, 'Ice Bringer'. Gray was behind the hulking man who was sent into the air by the force of the duel slashes he received on his chest. Had it not been for his high grade medical armour his chest would be open. Once back on land Arthur went on the assault this time he swung his sword in Gray's direction and a white lunar shaped wave shot out. Gray easily dodged but before he could fully recover another forty or so such attacks were launched at him from all angles. In midair it shouldn't have been possible to dodge but by create several mini ice platforms he was able to propel himself out of the way by leaping from one to the other.

As soon as he touched the ground the mighty bastard sword was being swung at him from the left. Gray caught the blade with his left hand that was encased in his diamond ice. A punch was thrown at him from the right which he caught in much the same way. The force of the punch was abnormally strong and almost shattered the bones in his arm despite his reinforcements. His chest now exposed was vulnerable a fact that did not go unnoticed by the knight. He launched a kick for Gray's gut but this was no ordinary attack the magic energy embedded in this attack was far beyond any of his other attacks. Gray had to take drastic measures.

He froze his feet to the ground so as not to be sent flying and froze his chest to absorb the impact. He was right to be cautious as the ice on his chest had cracked. The blunt force had done serious damage and Gray coughed up blood. But he wasn't the only one injured by the attack he tried to hide it but Gray could tell, by the fact that he didn't immediately follow up his attack and that the stance he made favour his right leg, he could tell Arthurs leg wasn't ok. His ice was a solid defence but it couldn't compare to his opponents magical armour. He knew he had to end the battle. His magic hadn't fully recovered and exhaustion was setting in. He placed his fist o his palm and cast 'Unlimited Ice Caliber'. The spell produced ornate swords made from Gray's most malleable ice. The swords flew in Arthur's direction wild driving themselves into the earth sending shrapnel flying in all directions. The swords that were on course for Arthur's body were either parried or left to harmlessly shatter on his high level armour.

Gray went into a full sprint picking up two of the stray swords that were lodged in the ground as he headed for Arthur. This resulted in a clash of swordplay. Unfortunately Gray's sword couldn't compete with Arthur's each blade could only last a few bouts and when they did shatter he replaced them with another blade from his surroundings. This went on for a while until Gray exhausted his supply of blades. He jumped backwards to a safe distance. "You won't get anywhere like that Gray. Come now you're Boring ME!" Arthur closed the gap in an instant and was about to deliver another super powered attack with his fist.

However it was intercepted by Gray's left hand coated in ice but this was on a different level than before. This time his entire left arm and his shoulder was covered and the ice took the form of jagged armour. There were sharp jagged spears jutting out of the demon like gauntlet. At his shoulder where the shoulder pad/grieves would be there seemed to be the likeness of a demon dragon or serpent it was difficult to read. There seemed to be eyeholes on the shoulder and a threatening dark blue light was being emitted. "Look what you did you woke up Lavaeathen" At the sight of the demonic arm Arthur became alarmed and used a downward slash that produced and explosive blast of energy that caused a massive explosion that cleared trees and left a huge crater. When the smoke cleared at the centre was a totally unfazed Gray who had brushed of the attack with the wave of his hand. "Demon Dance" those words were the beginning of the end for Arthur. From behind Gray emerged a giant Demon made of ice.

The humungous beast was humanoid but for the claws and deadly fangs (Deliora). "Do you really think something that big could catch me?" it was more of a statement than a question. Gray merely responded "This battle was decided by our little sword clash." The giant demon raised his arm and clenched it fist in preparation to strike. Arthur was about to easily avoid the attack but then the meaning of Gray's words were made clear. Ice began to grow out of all the tiny crevices in his armour including the armours joints thus sealing his movement.

Or so it seemed mustering all his might he gained movement in his arm and raised his arm to fend off the eminent blow that never came. The giant arm stopped mere inches from him. "Got ya" Gray used that as a distraction and was right in front of Arthur his left hand outstretched to Arthur's chest. He flicked his finger which shocking sent Arthur hurtling backwards his chest plate shattering at the impact. "Don't you know Iron becomes fragile when frozen" Gray said with a smug smirk on his face. His plan to destroy the armour worked out perfectly.


	6. No Rest for the Wicked

***This is a little different from the rest of the chapters as i tried to put in a little humor. Please keep in mind i said tried. Anyway I noticed i make a lot of grammatical errors as well as others so if you guys reading this know of a good beta plz recommend. oh and charaters are very OOC. Thanks to you guys who stuck with this story. **

**No Rest For The Wicked**

Gray stood victorious over his foe, Arthur Pendragon, worn out from the daunting task. He turned his back and headed to the town, no doubt Cassandra would be worried sick by this point. His progress was slow and the stroll began to feel like a marathon. He found himself leaning against his tree trying to recover some of his stamina. He decided to take a break and slumped down against the tree. He looked up at the moon and couldn't help but wonder how close his comrades were. He had no desire to face them because he knew that if he saw them he wouldn't be able to stay in Deliora.

Once he recovered a bit he was on his way again until he noticed the sound of boots thumping on soil along with the clanging and scraping of metal. He stopped walking and so did the sounds. He slowly started to walk again, then stopped and then walked again then stopped. This was repeated several times till gray went into a full on dash. He ran left then right then left again all in a futile attempt to lose his pursuer. He jammed himself to a tree listening for any sign of his stalker. Satisfied he peeked around the tree, seeing no sign of anyone he was on his way. "Hey are you done running?" hearing this Gray's only thoughts were '_there's no such thing as ghost, there's no such thing as ghost' _repeatedly in his mind. He robotically turned around and saw a huge beast cloakedin shadows. The humanoid, as Gray saw it, was bloody and battered. "G-G-Ghost!" Gray was about to break into a run when he remember something very important, he wasn't scared of ghost.

Due to his realization he was no longer afraid and turned around to face the spectre. "Um are you finished playing around?" the spectre spoke to him Gray's draw dropped.

"Oh great spirit have I stumbled upon your burial site?"

"What the hell are you saying? It's me Arthur, Arthur Pendragon. We literally just fought. How could you possibly have forgotten? Did I hit you that hard?"

"Y you bastard I beat you so you came back from hell to get back at me."

"Calm down I'm not dead you idiot." Arthur Pendragon stepped out into the moonlight and as he got closer to gray he began to shrink. Till his remaining armour fell unto the dirt. Now in his true form he was actually shorter than Gray and wasn't as well toned as gray had expected. He was as old as his other form appeared to be either he was in fact the same age as gray. Seeing this Gray burst out laughing which caused him to cough up blood but he didn't care it felt good to just laugh. Arthur punched Gray in the face for laughing at him but Gray couldn't stop. That punch lead to another then another until Gray retaliated all the while never stopping laughing.

They kept brawling till they were engulfed in a plume of smoke then they collapsed onto the dirt exhausted. In that moment they had formed a bond. Not one that could be classified but more like they came to a mutual understanding. "So why were you following me?" Gray asked his former enemy who then responded "Isn't it obvious, you just left in the middle of a forest I know nothing about. I followed you so I could make it to the nearest town." Gray understanding the situation agreed to show him the way.

"Fine follow me." They set off together, their destination Deliora, that is until they were met with resistance. "Damn it I let my guard down. Well it's been a while Natsu, Lucy, Cana and last but not least Juvia."

"Gray Sama" Juvia lunged forward and embraced Gray which in turn made him do something very unusual for him he returned it. Lucy was the next one to hug him and then even Cana got in on the action. The only person who remained unfazed was Natsu. "Come on droopy eyes lets go back" that came out much gentler than Natsu would have liked, but he couldn't hide how glad he was. Then his mood changed when Gray said "Sorry guys but I can't go back"

"WHAT!" Gray stepped away from the girls and faced Natsu. Natsu was now glaring at Gray until he spoke up, but the person he spoke to wasn't Natsu. It was the man silently observing in the shadows, Arthur. "Sorry dude but I'll be abandoning you in the forest. I'll pay you back someday." Arthur understood the basics and didn't argue in fact he made up his mind to lend gray a hand. "That won't be a problem. I was just thinking it might be nice to play around with these fairies but I don't think you'll be able to get away from the dragon slayer that easily."

"Don't worry about that I have a secret weapon." Gray again directed his attention to the girls. There expressions were a mix of joy and anguish. He gave them a weak smile then turned back to Natsu. It was time for his secret weapon. "Hey Natsu, look its Igneel!" Natsu just as Gray predicted took the bluff and did a 180.

"You idiot! Igneel is gone and what would he be doing here ayway?" Cana shouted. By the time Natsu had turned around Gray was gone and when he was about to pursue him a large wave of white light hampered their progress.

"Sorry guys but I owe that guy for giving me an enjoyable time, so I'll keep you here for as long as I can." Arthur gave them a pompous smirk. "But I never said anything about you guys did I." Four figures emerged from the shadows and after having a brief discussion with the first group went on to pursue Gray."


	7. Demons or Angels

Natsu was infuriated, not only was this guy avoiding direct confrontation but any time any of his teammates attempted to leave to go after Gray he would get in the way. If he wasn't so tired from racing all the way here Natsu was confident he could easily take care of his opponent. If he really wanted to he probably could get past the blond guy but if he was tired from the journey he wasn't sure how well his less physical teammates would be fairing. He just couldn't leave them unprotected. He would just have to put faith in his other friends.

Gray was running as fast as he could but his body was screaming at him for oxygen but he couldn't stop for two reasons. If he did he knew whoever the second group of pursuers would catch up to him and try to convince him and his other reason was that he wasn't sure if he could refuse. While distracted by his thoughts he didn't notice that there were people calling out to him. He couldn't make out the voices till, "A REAL MAN DOESN'T RUN AWAY GRAY!" that was definitely Elfman. Then without warning he saw flash of blue buzz past him then he was forced to dodge a tornado it would seem.

He was then surrounded at four points and he began to feel frightened, not for his own sake but hers. The one who had shot at him was none other than the little dragon slayer Wendy, of course she wasn't so little anymore. She had grown out her hair back to its original length and she was almost as tall as Lisana now. She had a much more womanly figure and yes even in this dire situation Gray couldn't help but notice, he was Gray after all. Her companions were none other than the Strauss siblings Lisana, Elfman and Mira, why'd it have to be Mira was Gray's only thought.

All his guild mates had been told that Gray had left to visit his parent's graves which were genuinely one of his reasons and he did visit but there was another reason. It began soon after the guild was rebuilt after their face off against Tartaros. Gray found himself taking more solo missions and most of the missions involved taking out some sort of monster or demon. It was during his missions to deal with the demons that he finally realized his problem. He always ended up killing the demons even if his mission was to capture them. At first he thought it was because he still wasn't used to using his devil slayer powers but then it began to escalate he felt an uncontrollable to desire to kill all demons. Then the incident happened. He witnessed Mira take on her Satan soul form and then he tried to chop off her head, of course no one noticed but Gray was troubled by the fact. Then it happened he woke up one morning feeling exceptional. He went for a stroll in the early morning when he ran into Mira. Things were going well until she touched him; he immediately had to run away for fear of hurting her. That night there were reports of a monster going on a rampage in the forest near Magnolia.

Before his friends could say anything Gray spoke "Why are you hear Mira?" They were shocked at what he said but most of all the way he said. The comment was directed at Mira but he seemed to be trying to avoid looking at he as well as his speech, it was so cold and monotone. Again before they had a chance to continue he continued "Elfman, Wendy you've definitely become strong you should be able to do it, I need you guys to kill." They were astonished at how calmly he said that there was something definitely wrong with him.

"Gray wh-what do you me-"Lisana was cut off again by again.

"Mira whatever you do don't move from that spot not even a single step. If you do I just may kill you" this time even Gray was shocked by what was coming out of his mouth. It had already happened he had lost himself. Now his body was on autopilot sadly he no longer felt like his movements were weighed down. He turned to face Mira for the first time to face; the transformation was quick, not just the mental transformation but the physical one as well.

The visible right half of his body was covered in glowing blue tattoos. The sclera of his right eye was the same shade of blue and his iris was silver. His hair was white and shimmered slightly in the moonlight. When he breathed a white mist could be seen. His pupil had the shape of a vertical slit and gave him quite the animalistic appearance. Even Elfman was a little shaken by Gray's demonic presence but he now had some idea of why Gray asked him to kill him.

Elfman entered his Lizardman form and charged at Gray sadly it seemed in this instance Gray was the real beast and sent him flying as easily as he would swat a fly (think of it like a bitch slap). Wendy chose the safe approach and used her 'Sky Dragon's Roar' again it was totally ineffective. Gray began to walk towards Mira his hands casual placed in his pocket as if to so he was confident he didn't need to use them. Wendy using this opportunity cast her enchantments to strengthen herself. She then went on to attempt to attack the base of Gray's neck, but when she made the slightest contact with him her hand began to freeze. She was forced to pull back then she cast a spell producing several mini twisters that headed straight for Gray.

He didn't even bother to turn around; by the time the twisters got close to him they were frozen. Wendy having no other option entered her dragon force form. For the first time since he transformed Gray took his eyes off of Mira and turned towards Wendy. She felt a chill when their eyes met but she realised much too late that the Gray she was looking at was just a sculpture. She felt a hand on her Shoulder by the time her head turned around to see Gray's face she was completely frozen.

Gray's clone shattered and he began his leisurely walk again. Mira watching this felt helpless. She wanted to run to her friends' aid but her body refused to move. She couldn't imagine hurting Gray. Whether it was because he was a close friend or maybe more likely it was her will to live. The sensation she felt from being in the presence of a magic made to kill her was absolutely terrifying. She could only look on as Gray drew closer and closer. Lisana got in front of her in a bid to protect her but Mira knew that she couldn't stop this Gray. But then Gray was sent flying By Elfman in his weretiger form.

As Gray got up Elfman continued his assault but all his attacks were effortlessly avoided. Midway in the flurry of attacks Elfman entered his wolfman form. As you would expect he was a humanoid large muscular wolf with black fur. His wolfman form isn't as agile as his latter form and the change in pace was able to disrupt Gray's rhythm and earned Elfman another blow. Realizing that none of his lesser forms could win this Elfman entered his strongest form Warion.

A smug smirk came across Gray's face as he said "Impressive the King of Beast but I wonder if it'll be enough to beat the demon king the Calamity King" after saying that a crown began to materialize on Gray's head. It was a rather odd crown as it met on his forehead in a V shape that became horns. He really did look the part of a demon king, and then the brawl began. They appeared to be even at first the Gray gained a slight advantage and then it was completely one sided. It started with them exchanging blow for blow then it was two to one in Gray's favour. Now Elfman wasn't even able to land a single punch. It was a terrifying scene to behold. Gray had gotten Elfman on his back and was sitting on his chest pounding in Elfman's face.

Gray was on the edge of breaking it was if he was drowning in the tears he couldn't shed. It took all his effort to stop hurting is friend. He got up Elfman but he still wasn't in control of his body. Knowing there was no way Lisana would be able t stop him he had only one option and that was to end his own life. He couldn't see anymore as if his body was trying to shut itself down. That was probably due to his body being pushed past its limits by the devil in him. He couldn't see but he still had options. He summoned an ornate ice spear right in front of his heart. It slowly edged forward till the tip was touching his chest. It felt oddly _cold_.

It must have been the fact that it was the instrument of his end. Gray didn't have many regrets after all he had a good life surrounded by close friends and beautiful girls. Of course he did regret the things he wasn't able to protect, the people he wasn't able to protect, the unfinished score he had with Natsu and much more. But the thing that was on his mind now was that he never got to fall in love. Don't misunderstand Gray had a lot of crushes some more special than others and one person more special than all but all of those were never love. He really regretted never having tasted that love.

He felt freezing cold; he was losing consciousness he had to end it now. Well that was his thought but somebody else had a different plan in mind. He felt warmth more warmth than he could ever imagine having felt. The instrument of his suicide shattered and the feeling in his body as well as his senses began to return. Once his sense of touch was back he realised someone was embracing him from behind. They felt so warm that Gray's body couldn't help but relax. He stumbled back and he and the person fell onto their butts. He felt something wet on his back and realised the person was crying. Even her tears were warm. Yes he realised it was a girl due to her… bosom. He didn't even have the strength to sit up straight and let his body crumple to the ground.

Now he was finally able to see who it was it was Mira. She was looking down on him tears still falling with her usual warm inviting smile, no this was different smile one reserved solely for him he wanted to enjoy that sight more but his body wouldn't allow him. He relaxed into her lap like she was a pillow and it crossed his mind that Elfman was so going to kill him but he didn't care at least not at the moment and he just let himself drift into a pleasant sleep while being embraced by Mira. What Gray hadn't noticed was the moment Mira had hugged him he and he felt that surge of warmth he had cast a spell, _Ice make Garden._ They were surrounded by roses that were glistening like diamonds in the faint light of the rising sun. "Who knew you were such the romantic Gray" Mira let out a little giggle and gave Gray a quick peck on the cheek.


	8. And We're On Our Way

***I'll be the first to admit this isn't very good. I apologize for that. What can i say i was distracted by a certain singing competition. Now to AncientAlliance i totally agree with you GrayMi does need some love and i just hope i do it justice. thanks to all of you who reviewed this story and i promise i'll try to make the next chapter much better to make up for this failure. **

**And We're on Our Way**

Gray's eyes began to flutter open. He could feel the sun on his face so he decided it was time to wake up. The first thing he saw was silvery white hair. It was Mira sitting by his bedside. She turned to face him and said "Good morning Gray," and gave him her signature smile. He gave her a weak smile and greeting in return realizing how tired he still felt. "Um Gray can you let go of my hand now?" she giggled and told him. The bed he was resting on was jammed against the wall but after that statement it wasn't the only thing that was. Gray let go of her hand and retreated to the wall at a speed almost as fast as his legendary stripping technique. "Am I that disgusting" Mira stated while fake crying. Gray being who he was would fall for this no matter how many times he was fooled.

"N-n-no Mira th-that's not what I meant at all" she laughed at his response. "I've really missed you Gray, we all have," for some reason he found himself blushing at the latter part. "GRAY SAMA!" AN ELATED Juvia came bounding through the door followed by a stream of her fellow guild mates. They all began to too circle his bed except Juvia who decided to just jump on Gray and embrace him. Gray felt very uncomfortable under the stares of his friends and in the arms of his stalker.

"Well?" this time it was Lucy who steered the conversation and Gray knew exactly what they all wanted to hear. "I would like to hear this as well." It was the owner of the house Cassandra. She was the one who found the Fairy Tail wizards in the forest with an unconscious Gray and a blonde noble. She went looking for Gray who suddenly ran off then found herself in a very precarious situation. After they introduced themselves the situation was explained to her by the person she now knew to be Lucy.

Gray knowing he had no other choice consented and told them everything even the issue with Mira, which no doubt left them all a bit flustered. It was Mira who broke the awkward silence "I'm so sorry Gray I had no idea what you were going through all alone." What could Gray say he was simply astounded? His friends were apologizing to him for not being able to help him, which to him made absolutely no sense. No matter how he tried he didn't think he would ever be able to understand his guild but that wasn't such a bad thing you just couldn't not love fairy tail.

Natsu decided to say something "Well let's go then". He said it like it was a statement of fact even though he had a big grin on his face. Gray realised he didn't have much of a choice but he still had things to do.

"Cassandra pack your bags."

"Huh"

"What did you forget? Didn't I tell you I wouldn't leave you alone ever again." He flashed her, his confident smirk that made him look so reliable.

"Gray" it was hardly audible due to her sobbing. But those were happy tears and it brought a smile to everyone in the room.

Gray still had something he wanted to do so he told everyone that they would meet back there at two. The son was already shining brightly and he had to move quickly if he wanted to keep is schedule. Despite being tired he used his teleportation magic repeatedly till he reached his destination.

He now stood in front a beautifully decorated tomb made of unbreakable ice. On the tomb said Mika and Silver Fullbuster. He had to pay his parents one last visit.

"Hey mom, dad. It sure has been a while huh. I'm sorry looks like I was rushing to join you guys again but you don't need to worry. I think I finally found someone who won't be afraid to pull me from the edge. I'll definitely protect them all of them. I'll make you proud. Who knows I may even get you that grandchild you always wanted." He may have been saying it with a smile but his tears were ceaselessly falling. He continued on for a while telling them things that were going on in his life. Things normal kids would take for granted but were extremely important to him. When he was done he wiped his tears on his sleeves and was about t set off but not without saying "See you later." He teleported back and collected his things. And then headed to the meeting point. When he arrived they were all waiting for him. "Well let's head home guys!"


	9. The Journey Home

***Well it's been a wile guys. Sadly i wont be updating during the week anymore well not regularly any way. Just have a slight note here. For the last chapter i recommend you imagine it like a cinematic where where the kids and their older selves kinda intertwine. You'll understand after reading. **

To onlookers they would seem quite the odd bunch. A hulking man with than skin and white hair lead the team cause as he put it he was a REAL MAN. Following him were three girls; a blue haired girl with long hair tied into a ponytail by a white ribbon, a petite silver haired girl whit short shoulder length hair the third had the same hair color but hers was much longer reaching almost waist length. Following them were two more gorgeous girls who happened to be blondes. They both had long silky locks and wore blue, in fact they could almost be sisters but their choices of clothes were very different. One wore very revealing clothes while the other wore much more conservative clothes. Next to them was a rather idiotic scarf wearing pink haired man.

Last in the line-up was a muscular raven haired boy who oddly was fully clothed in black trousers a white shirt and a black trench coat. Even stranger was the brunet he was carrying on his back. Apparently in the time for Gray to wrap up his unfinished business 'someone' went from bar to bar after which quite a few had to close down for the day. The result was Cana climbing onto Gray's back, in a drunken daze then falling asleep. Despite feeling tired Gray relented and decided to carry her till she felt she could walk again. Who would have guessed that they would both be reminiscing about the childhood they shared.

**The Fairy Tail Guild (Before Erza's Arrival)**

"Wait up Gray you forgot your clothes!" Little Gray hearing the chipper voice of young Cana turned around to face her. She was hunched over breathing heavy a bundle of clothes in her arms. His normal reaction would've been an exaggerated statement of the fact but he was in a bad mood. After failing a mission to retrieve a piece of jewellery Gray was ridiculed by teenage Laxus. Gray's reaction to the taunting was to challenge Laxus to a fight, which he inevitably lost. Gray then proceeded to exit the guild in a dramatic over the top fashion.

Cana witnessing the incident decided to lecture Laxus not that he paid her much mind. She then gathered the clothes Gray had miraculously discarded she had lost sight of him and didn't know where he had gone when she finally caught up to him he was in his own world, hands in his pocket slouching in a manner that made him look seriously dejected. She called out to him till he finally turned around with a look on his face that would make you assume he had just eaten something sour.

Now that we're all caught up. "Here're all your clothes"

"Thanks" he accepted the clothes with a pout on his face that, in Cana's opinion, made him look really cute. He normally was so serious but when he showed his childish side he seemed so innocent and most of all adorable.

"So what ya doing?" (Phineas and Ferb)

"Leave me alone" his voice was stern and serious throughout their conversation.

"Where are you going?"

"To train."

"Where?"

"In the East Forest."

"But isn't that place pretty dangerous?"

"Kinda the point."

"So who's going with you?"

"No one."

"What! But you could get really injured!"

"Don't you ever shut up? Now leave me alone" But she didn't she kept on following him till he reached the trail that lead to east forest.

He made a run for it and ditched her. He never thought for a second that the little pipsqueak would actually follow him. He searched until he found a quiet clearing where he could practise his maker magic.

Cana lost Gray as soon as he entered the forest and had become lost herself when she tried to follow him. She kept searching for Gray and a way out at the same time but sadly she wasn't making any progress. She was lost for at least two hours now and still couldn't find a way out. Then she heard rustling in the bushes, she'd be lying if she said she wasn't scared. The sun was still in the sky but that just gave the forest an eerie feeling due to the dark creepy shadows. Then she heard the rustling again.

She frantically ran to hopefully get away from whatever was hiding away in the bushes but before she could get away a tiny rabbit like creature jumped out of the bushes. Cana felt silly for being afraid of such a cute little creature but she didn't feel so silly for being afraid of the creature that suddenly ate the bunny. She was wrong to have been paying attention only to what was on the forest floor and not what was up in the trees.

She followed the long the path of the long tongue that had swiftly appeared snatched the bunny and retreated. What she saw at the top of the tree was a serpent like creature wrapped around a tall wide trunked tree. It had a log red body with green splotches dotted over its scaly body. Its head had an oddly feminine appeal and its eyelids were black making it look oddly elegant. Despite this there was no denying that before her was a savage beast. Its eyes were slanted and had a yellow glint. The pupil was a straight vertical slit that made it look quite demonic. Cana wanted to run but she was enthralled by the monster's gaze. It slithered down the tree and began to shift itself towards Cana in an enchanting dance. It circle the frightened girl and edged closer and closer to her every second.

Cana was certain she would be eaten; she hadn't even realized that she had fallen on her knees. She couldn't help herself from crying for her sad faith. Who could blame such a young girl for such a innocent reaction, she closed her eyes and had completely given up.

"ICE MAKE CANNON!" She heard him shout and as she opened her eyes to the majestic beast realign through the air after taking a huge chunk of ice to the face. It's appearance was rather laughable now opposed to its previous threatening aura. "Gray where did you come fr-"

"Hop on" He cut her off which surprised and he knelt down in front so she could climb onto his back. "You still can't walk properly so I'll give you a ride just this once OK" He turned his head and gave her a warm smile.

"But how come you can move so easily Gray?"

"Hmm, you thought that was scary. That little can't compare to Deliora," She wondered who this Deliora person was but she ignored it and climbed onto his back. They walked for a while in silence until Cana decided to break that silence. "Thank you Gray" hearing this Gray responded nonchalantly "Whatever". Despite the way he said it Cana could tell he was happy and although she felt like she could walk now she decided to relax into his back. "You know your surprisingly warm Gray."

**Back in the Present**

Cana had regained consciousness and felt a rhythmic swaying. She was relaxed and very comfortable. Then she finally realized that she was on Gray's back just like in the dream she was having.

"So your finally up huh, you know you're pretty heavy now"

"And you're pretty rude now"

"Hmph"

"But… your still surprisingly warm" she then snuggled up to him and closed her eyes deciding that she would take advantage of her friend for a little longer. "Am I? That's strange. But you know your boobs have gotten surprisingly big." This earned Gray a playful smack to the head but he didn't mind it was _surprisingly _pleasant.


	10. Gods Among Us

***Hey guys this is the beginning of the real story so pay attention to the new characters. If you're having a hard time picturing the OCs review or PM me cause they are very important to the story later on. fyi for those of you who read Ice Trail (the manga spinoff based on Gray a must read that i recommend) you'll have an idea of how how his ice covered limbs look when he uses them in fights. P.S. little Gray is awesome. **

Their group of ten was had been making steady progress and decided to take a break from there leisurely walk. They were now enjoying a brief reprieve from the constant bickering of Natsu and Gray due to Gray having to, as he put it, take a piss. The nine of them who were waiting for Gray's return were all engaged in idle chatter except for Elfman who as atonement for his unmanly performance against berserk Gray was doing intensive training and trying to come up with the no armed push up, he was not very successful.

There pleasant mood was interrupted by the approach of two men. The older of the men was tall and imposing. He was rather odd. He had the body of a body builder and along with his broad shoulders and his large hands he seemed to be built for battle. He still wasn't as tall as Elfman but everything around him, including the members of Fairy Tail and company, seemed to shrink in his presence making him seem enormous. Despite his threatening aura he was dressed rather casually. He had on a pink and red Hawaiian t-shirt, knee length grey trousers and flip-flops. His chiselled jaw was covered in stubble and he had unruly rust brown hair. Everything about him made him stand out his imposing figure, his overwhelming presence but most of all his gaze. His hazel, almost golden, eyes seemed to exude madness and his smirk was unsettling. So much so in fact that even Natsu seemed to be worried.

His presence seemed to be crushing everything around him that is except his companion. If anything his companion was almost just as imposing but for different reason. He had a subtle charm about him. He wore a long sleeved white shirt with a black waist coat. Similarly he had on black pants and black pointed shoes. He too was well toned but is face was thinner and his chin was pointed. His purple hair was slicked back so as not to get in his eyes. His black rimmed glasses rested right on the tip of his nose. He had sharp black eyes which seemed to be deep in focus. But his gaze was not on them it was directed at the absurdly large book resting in his arms. He seemed to be skimming through the books contents with alarming speed but he never turned the page and just kept repeatedly reading the same page, or so it seemed.

He finally turned to face them "Pleasure to make your acquaintance. I am Hermes and I have

been tasked with delivering a message to you members of Fairy Tail. As decreed by my King you are hereby issued a warning. Due to your service of defeating the Black Dragon our King has extended his hand to you and is willing to offer you a place in our new Utopia if you refuse you shall be crushed under our feet. Do you acknowledge that you have received this message?" He was fast and precise and said it whit a monotone voice that suggested he saw it simply another menial task in his daily jobs. "I repeat do you acknowledge that you have received and understood the message?"

Before they could fully process what was going on the Hawaiian t-shirt wearer vanished from their sight and the appeared behind Wendy with his right hand right above her head as if he were about to crush her skull which he was. The wizards of Fairy Tail were fast to react. Elfman had grabbed a hold of the man's outstretched arm while Mira had snatched Wendy and retreated to a safe distance. Natsu and Loke, who had been summoned by Lucy, Both went for the strangers head. Both of their magically infused fists collided with his head and left the man's head engulfed in smoke. Cana Juvia and Lissana took up positions to protect the one member of their team who was not versed in magic.

Before the smoke could clear they heard the raspy menacing voice of the would be murderer. "I'm disappointed. I was so excited to meet the wizards that had slain the Black Dragon and even freed the cursed wizard Zeref. The brave wizards that would go to War for but one of their comrades! But I see my excitement was misplaced. Your nothing but trash like the rest of the humans. But I suppose you could be somewhat entertaining." At this a wicked smile graced his lips and he stared Elfman in his eyes. What Elfman saw in those eyes were vivid images of wars, street brawls, towns being pillaged and animals slaughtering each other. He could also hear them building upon each other like an orchestra of suffering. Their screams of anger and murderous desire, it was all so maddening. Which was its purpose as well as its result. Elfman entered a fit of rage and entered his Warion form and lunged towards Loke who instinctively dodged. He kept trashing about while his comrades were forced to retreat, all the while the unnamed stranger laughed maniacally.

Before Natsu could take another step he felt a hand on his head but he was too late to react. His head was bashed into the floor with such force that a large crater resulted. "I'm sorry but I can't allow you to leave until I confirm that my message has been received." This time it was the smaller of the two. He was standing in midair and had transparent wings coming out the outer sides of his heels. Again without warning and before they could recover from the shock of seeing Natsu so easily crushed a hailstorm swords were sent flying in all directions. The surround area was decimated along with the group of wizards caught in it. They were all lying defeated on the floor.

"How pathetic trying to run away and with no concern for your missing comrade." At this all of the Fairy Tail wizards began to get on their feet. Perhaps it was their defiant nature, or more likely it was the threat to their family member who they had only recently reunited with. "Hmm, so you still have some fight left in you, amusing." That same wicked grin was once again plastered on his face.

"Where's Gray?" Lucy was the one who spoke up first.

"Believe me you don't want to go where he is. Even I'm not that crazy!" He began his fitful laughter again. They couldn't understand the meaning behind this until they saw it. A humongous wave was coming from in front of them. The muscular man and his companion turned to face it and even they seemed a tiny bit surprised.

"Damn you Poseidon."

They both attempted to get to higher ground but that proved to be futile because geysers of water erupted from all over what was left of the forest. The landscape had become that of a lake with small patches of green breaking the surface. This in fact was the top of the tallest trees in the forest.


	11. Drowning in Love

***First of all guys can i just have a moment of to show my respect to the one of a kind work of art Naruto. THANK YOU KISHIMOTO. Ok now i apologize for the late update but stuff came up. This chap is basically ,if u remember the last chapter, Gray's side of things. Now Please note that although i have this story story as a Erza x Gray x Mira i still haven't made up my mind. Now i know it seems like its taking forever for them to reach the guild but i had to make it that way. Certain events needed to happen on the way there mainly because i just didn't want to have to destroy their guild hall again. Anyway Enjoy. **

Gray was feeling refreshed after having relieved himself on a nearby tree. He was anxious to get back to his friends, so he zipped himself up in a hurry and turned on his heels to head back. Surprisingly there was someone standing in front of him. He seemed like a regular suave man. He had black soft hair that seemed to have a dark blue hue when it caught the light. He was obviously well toned and had handsome features that would make even Loki jealous. He wore a white v-neck t-shirt under a blue hoody. He had dark blue denim jeans and grey sneakers.

The moment Gray met his eyes he knew immediately that it was a bad idea. He found himself on his knees gasping for air as if he was drowning. It was only for a brief instance but the moment Gray made eye contact he felt as if he was floating deep under water with the pressure threatening to crush his very soul.

"Hmm, just another worm," he reached out his hands and hoisted Gray up by his neck. That comment had snapped Gray back to reality. He froze the man's hand and broke free. "Oh, I see. It seems this worm has some fangs." He plastered an amused grin on his face.

"Who the hell are you?"

"Please forgive my poor manners. You may call me Poseidon, God of the seas. I-"

"What!"

Gray was baffled by the stranger but most of all he wanted to ascertain whether or not his friends were safe. Normally Gray would just use his magic to make a diversion and slip by him but Gray could instinctively tell if he gave this guy half a chance he was dead. "What is it you want?"

Poseidon gave him a look that seemed to say _are you stupid or what_. After a moment's pause and after letting out a long sigh he finally said "I thought that would be obvious. All we want is the world. We want what's ours."

Gray didn't know how to respond to this, he wasn't making any sense. Poseidon looked away for a brief moment then back at Gray and said "Looks like they've begun over there as well." Gray hadn't realized it before but now that he was paying attention he could feel to enormous masses of magical energy near his comrades. "Hey stop ignoring me." He understood why he hadn't sensed the others; it was because right before him was a being far above their level. Only one thing was clear for him and that was he didn't stand a chance of winning. "Didn't I say to pay attention to me!" Gray's head snapped upright to make eye contact with Poseidon but it was to late.

When he looked up he was met with the sight of a wave coming his way. He took evasive action and used his mini ice platforms to launch himself into the air but that wasn't enough the wave just seemed to get bigger and bigger till it was tsunami height. He was enveloped by the water and was being spun in all different directions. Naturally he froze the water to stop the spinning but almost immediately after he froze it the water melted instantaneously. There was a brief reprieve from the violent swirling but that was merely the calm before the storm. Right below he could feel the water bubbling and then it happened. A geyser erupted from right below him propelling him into the air at an alarming speed that forced what little air was in his lunges to evacuate his chest. For a brief moment he found himself floating freely in the air.

He was barely able to make sense of the scenery before him. All he could see was blue water with green splotches dotting the surface. The only other disturbances were the multiple geysers erupting at random areas on the water's surface. After Gray had finally gotten used to the feeling of falling he was painfully brought back down to earth, literally and figuratively. The water directly below him seemed to be a shade darker than the rest that was due to the shadow of an enormous hand hanging over his head. It was a huge mass of water in the shape of a human arm that rose up from the water below. The hand slapped down with a crushing forth that could smash mountains, thus Gray wasn't doing too well at the moment. Some might say that the lake below him would cushion his fall. Gray wouldn't be one of those people.

The moment he felt the palm of the huge hand he was afraid his spine might snap. But worst of all was the feeling of hitting a brick wall when he came in contact with the water's surface, then there was that brief moment of weightlessness that he felt before the water once again invaded his lunges threatening to snuff out his very life. After that all he could see was darkness.

'_How pathetic Gray. To think you would allow a mere god to defeat you. I won't let you die in such a pathetic manner boy, but you had better not go losing again. I am the true Lord of the ocean depths, the King of all that dwell in the darkness and I also happen to be a part of you. I am Daedalus and should you ever disgrace me again I will have no choice but to intervene and erase all who dare to insult us. Remember my words Gray, that is if you truly wish to protect her. The ones who will oppose you are ancient deities beyond your understanding. If you seek to defeat them you must seek him out. The E.N.D before the E.N.D.'_

Gray woke up coughing. He didn't what that was but if Daedalus was threatening to act on his own Gray needed to take this seriously. The last time Daedalus took action he had almost killed one Gray's precious 'friend'. But there were other matters to deal with before he could decipher the message.

He tried to get up but it was no use, his body just refused to obey him. He tried to reassess his situation by looking around. He couldn't see any sign of Poseidon and decided it was best to rest and recover while he had the chance. He wanted to determine if his friends were safe but he was confident that his friends were ok, well at least alive. There was an adorable giggle then he heard a voice say "Oh how adorable! You just faced Poseidon and your still concerned for your loved ones." His eyes shot open and what he saw was possibly the most beautiful women he had ever aid eyes on sitting on his chest. Remarkably he couldn't even feel her presence.

She had long silky black hair that reached right above her waistline. Her bangs were brushed to the side as not to conceal her gorgeous face. Her eyes were a radiant pink that seemed to radiate joy. Her skin was slightly tanned and flawless. She had luscious peach coloured lips. And pleasant smile that seemed to just melt away all Gray's pain and exhaustion. She wore a white revealing tank top that extenuated her ample bosom. Around her neck was simple silver necklace with a pink heart shaped gem that rested in the crevice of her chest. Her figure was perfect and well toned, but she was not muscular in the slightest. She also wore a white skirt that was slit down the left side revealing her long slender legs. Her feet were adorned with black sandals that reach right below her knee.

Gray despite the situation couldn't help but blush when she giggled at how he was staring at her. He immediately looked her in the eyes. "Who are you?"

"Who do you think I am?" Every word that left her mouth had a whimsical energy about and Gray was sure if it was anyone else he would be extremely annoyed by that upbeat attitude but he just couldn't not like her. "Since you asked so nicely I am Aphrodite. I have other names but that's the only one I think you need to no."

"What do you want?"

She giggled adorably again and Gray was sure he saw her blush. She traced her hand up his chest and the let it rest on his guild mark. "Your such a meanie Gray. Are you really gonna make me say. I want you Gray."


	12. The Warmth of Tiny Arms

**Well its sure has been a while. I apologize but i had school so couldn't help help. I know how annoying it can be when a fic isn't updated in a long time, believe me i do. So here's the latest chapter hope you enjoy and if you do plz plz leave a review. **

Did he hear that right? That was the first thing that went through Gray's mind. That was pretty stupid because there were several things that he should be thinking about. For instance his friends' safety his own safety for that matter, where Poseidon had disappeared or even how this girl knew his name. All of those would have made a lot more sense than what he was thinking.

"Are you even listening to me Gray? Hmpf how rude." Gray was taken aback. He was so preoccupied with his thoughts that he wasn't paying attention to her. "Like I was saying, I'm really interested in you Gray. You've led a life full of love and pain and yet still made it this far in life. Your magic is proof of that. Ice make magic from the woman who gave her life to save you and Devil slayer magic from your father who suffered through the worst kind of hell to give you that strength." She took up his right hand and placed it to cup her face. "So cold and yet so warm, just like the true nature of love." A smile more radiant than any other had graced her lips and Gray had fallen under her spell.

She leant into Gray to the point where their noses were noses were touching. He could smell her warm breath, it smelt like roses. He found himself leaning forward their lips growing ever closer. He was so close to kissing her but someone interrupted them. "What do you think you're doing to my Gray-Sama!?"

Gray turned his head just in time to see all his comrades' safe, drenched of course, but safe. Before he could process what was happening a high speed blast of water was shot at Aphrodite who disappeared immediately. But not before having one last word. "Oh Gray there are so many people that love you but I won't let any of them have you. You're all mines. Bye sweetie." Then she was gone.

"Gray Sama are you alright, Juvia was so worried about you!"

"I'm fine Juvia but more importantly are all of you ok?"

"We're all fine Gray sama Juvia was able to pull everyone into myself and keep them safe."

"Gray what's going on?" Lucy asked. He wished he could answer her but he didn't have a clue himself. So each side recounted recent events from their respective points of view, and they made this simple deduction. They had no idea what to make of things, so they concluded that it was necessary to get back to the guild and get counsel from the master. They wanted to leave immediately but Lissana and Mirajane were the ones to point out that they weren't all able to keep up with the guys' pace. So they decided to take quick rest. They were lucky to find a moderately dry clearing. It was lucky because despite the fact that Poseidon's magically produced water seemed to vanish almost as quickly as it appeared it left the entire landscape damp and moist.

There was hardly any conversation and Gray decided to mope under a tree away from the others. No one was quite eager to console him as they themselves were still coming to grips with their predicament. This was probably the first time they had all been so easily trounced by a handful of people. Natsu and Gray more than any of the others were feeling extremely dejected. Gray who had sworn never to lose to the same opponent twice was troubled by the thought that he wouldn't be able to beat these enemies. Natsu was ashamed at being spared by the enemy. They weren't the only ones having issues. All of their party was deep in thought.

Gray's back was aching from the smack Poseidon had dealt him but he was too stubborn to admit it. He was busy following the trail of ants moving along the ground in front of him when Wendy came up to him. "Gray san ar-are you ok?" She asked him that adorably timid way she had of speaking. Honestly, Gray was quite surprised that she hadn't outgrown her shyness after all this time. "Uh, I'm fine Wendy." Wendy could tell he wasn't fine but she was feeling a bit awkward around Gray. The reason was also the reason for her apparent shyness. You see Gray hadn't realized that he had stripped down to his boxers and Wendy was having a difficult time deciding where to look. But now that Gray was stripped she could tell from a simple glance that he wasn't as 'ok' as he let on. She spotted swelling on his neck and it was clear that his muscles were strained. He was obviously pushing himself.

"Turn around." She said.

"Huh, why?"

"Cause you're not fine. Now turn around."

Gray could see the conviction in her eyes and he knew better than to object. SO, reluctantly he turned around so Wendy could look at his sore back. He hadn't even realised how injured he was till Wendy's magic began coursing through him mending, mending torn muscle and sore spots. When she had finished relief swept through his body filling him with a sense of euphoria. He was then startled by something thumping against his back. He shifted to see what it was.

It turned out to be the young dragon slayer, no surprise there. After all she had exhausted herself treating everyone in their party. She had always been like that. She was always putting others before herself, one of her more admirable qualities but also a rather unhealthy life choice.

Gray knew she would be up soon so he just straightened his back so she wouldn't fall over. He could feel the warmth from her breaths and it made him tingle a little. It seems when he did it cause Wendy to stir in her sleep. Before he knew it he felt tiny arms wrapped around his torso and pull him into a hug. He was startled for a moment, till he realized Wendy was still sleeping. Probably having a pleasant dream and he didn't feel like disturbing her.

***Slight note. I'm planning to start a new fic. This time its gonna be a school life fic (still Fairy Tail of course). So PM me or leave a review. I'd like to make Gray the main charter cause... he's just awesome! P.S. Devils Slayer Gray and Natsu vs Natsu was just Epic. Just had to say that. **


	13. Life & Death or Something Else

**Well guys and gals here's the next chapter hope you enjoy as usual if you did leave a review so i know that you liked it. This chapter has a little hidden clue in it as to how the story will develop. And you may be pleased to know i've got my romance story in the works should be seeing it pretty soon. I've narrowed down to either Graylu or Grayza. Again i really want you guys feedback. Also i wouldn't mind some ideas for other couples. Without further adue (is this right?... whatever who cares) **

Their journey was nearly over but there seemed to be some odd feelings within the group. Wendy was thoroughly embarrassed after waking up leaning on Gray, who just so happened to be the most oblivious guy on the face of the earth. He hadn't even noticed how red Wendy's face was when he laughed at her for drooling on him. They weren't the only people feeling awkward.

Elf man was in the lead because a real man always takes the lead. No one was particularly anxious to argue with him. He was still bombed about not being very useful on the mission. But the person with the strangest behaviour was definitely Mira. She was feeling oddly agitated after she overheard a conversation between Cana and Cassandra.

It was about how Gray was when he was younger, not a very strange topic considering they knew Gray the longest of the group. What had irritated Mira, not that she would admit, was when Cana brought up how cute Gray was when he was younger. Then someone the conversation shifted to how Gray had promised to marry Cassandra at a town festival. Mira couldn't explain it but after hearing that she was extremely agitated for some reason and to top it off she had hardly spoken to Gray after she acted as his lap pillow. Worst of all Gray was giving all his attention to Wendy, or so she thought, in actuality he was teasing her about her drooling. She decided to approach him.

He just happened to be by himself as miraculously Juvia had decided to talk to Elfman about something. So she took this opportunity to talk to him.

"Hey Gray what are you so focussed on?" She had just meant it as a way to start the conversation but the she noticed that he was honestly deep in thought.

"Huh, sorry Mira did you say something?"

"I was just curious about what you could possibly so caught up in."

"Oh nothing important was there anything else you wanted."

"Do you really think so lowly of me Gray? You're acting like I only ever talk to you when I want something." She then began her 'fake tears' act which Gray totally fell for.

"Uh n-no way Mira that's not what I meant at all!" His reaction was too cute. She quit the act almost immediately.

"So how do you plan to make it up to me?"

"Wait, what!?"

She really loved messing with Gray; it could almost be considered a hobby. She tapped her chin in way that would make you think she was contemplating something. "Well I guess you could treat me to dinner."

"W-w-wait! H-hold on a minute Mira."

"Hmm… I haven't been to La'Venore in a while that should be nice. So I guess it's a date!" She hadn't given it much thought but after saying it out loud Mira felt seriously self conscious. And she started to feel really hot especially in her cheeks while Gray was just completely stunned.

He finally managed to choke out the words "What just happened?"

Saved by the bell doesn't do justice to what happened next. They heard Natsu shout something so they both went to see what the issue was. Both of them gave a sigh of relief having realized that they were both just as awkward about it as the other. What they met was not quite what they expected. There was a giant raccoon like creature lying on the floor. Well giant for a raccoon.

It was around 4 ft tall light brown with dark brown concentric stripes and a light pink belly. Its face seemed to be frozen in a look of dread that was more creepy than scary. One eye was open wide and the other was squinting and bloodshot. Its mouth seemed to be caught between a wide Joker like grin a snarl and a frown all rolled into one. Apart from that t seemed to be unharmed but there was a ghastly scent in the air like it was dead.

Cassandra spoke up "It's a Biblocoon. They're type of beast that are master's at playing dead. In fact there's a legend that says a Biblicoon forgot he was playing and actually died. They're able to enter a state similar to hibernation but much more advanced as they actually stop their heart completely. It's almost impossible to tell if one is actually dead or not."

"But this one is definitely dead right? I mean just smell it" Lucy was the one who made the inquiry. There was a gagging sound in the background. The sound of Natsu puking, not surprising considering his super human sense of smell.

"Not quite. You see Lucy the Biblicoon doesn't have any natural offensive abilities. So… they bathe themselves in anything that smells disgusting to ward off predators. Biblicoons aren't classified as dead or alive cause it's not really possible to tell."

The group decided that it didn't really mater witch one it was and so they left it alone. Plus Natsu couldn't take the stench anymore. Mira had noticed that after Cassandra's little Biology lesson Gray had gone silent and seemed to be deep in thought. What she didn't realize was what was weighing on Gray's mind. Something Cassandra said was stuck on repeat in his head, _'neither dead or alive'_. Maybe… Then it hit him. He finally understood what was needed of him.

Mira was just about to ask him what the matter was but Cassandra beat her to it. For some reason in Mira's head the name Cassandra was pronounced in mock fashion. "What's wrong Gray?"

He turned to her with a genuine smile on his face, which was rare for him. "Nothing's wrong. In fact things are finally starting to look up." He did something that was even more out of character and picked her up and twirled her in the air. For moment it was as if they were two little kids again, just enjoying life. Before everything was taken from them. It was then that Mira realized just how close Cassandra and Gray were and honestly it made her kind jealous.

"What the hell is wrong with you droopy eyes you're creeping me out"

"What's it got to do with you flame brain!"

"You wanna go popsicle!"

"Bring it on squinty eyes!"

Maybe Gray becoming more childlike wasn't so glamorous as it first appeared.

**Thanks for Reading. If you like this story and you haven't allready, you follow/favorite and drop a review. And spread the word. That's an order... well not really but you get the point. Show me some love.**


	14. Home Coming

**Well since i got such wonderful reviews here's another chapter. Hope you enjoy. Just gotta shout out . You made me bust out the google translate but much appreciated none the less. Just have to thank everyone who followed, favourited, reviewed and just plane read this story. I had planned to cut the story short but you guys really made me feel like continuing it, so thanks a lot. oh and ancientalliance i think you misunderstood me when i said i narrowed it down to either graylu or grayza. i was referring to my school life fic i have in the works. Anyway still looking for ideas for other pairings plus i want you guys to tell me what type of fic you'd rather read, a grayza or graylu. Naturally the more popular one wins. Just fyi the story will be title THE SOUND OF MY HEART. **

The time had finally come. Standing outside the doors to Fiore's strongest guild accompanied by the two rescue teams and one companion, was the one and only Gray Fullbuster. All his anticipation seemed to drain out of him and it was replaced with gut wrenching fear. He had longed for this moment for months now but now that he was facing it he couldn't help but wonder what they would think of him. He just suddenly left without a word and now he was coming back again without a warning.

Before he could even settle his nerves Natsu burst through the front door shouting "We're back!" His group began to file in the front door leaving him last in line. His legs felt like they were glued to the floor. He was about to turn around when someone grabbed his arm. He looked up and saw that it was Mira. She gave him that warm smile that would always melt away his troubles. It was that same smile that had saved him from the darkness that dwells within him. She gently pulled him forward into the guild hall. He could feel the warmth from her surging up his arm and into his body so much so that he hadn't even realized that the normally rambunctious Fairy Tail guild was silent.

Gray suddenly felt the eyes of his guild mates on him. He looked around to see most of his family all gathered in the hall staring at him. They were all looking at him as if he was a stranger to them. The members who were present were Nab, Max, Wakaba, Kinana, Levy, Gajeel, the Thunder God Tribe, Laxus, etc…(well to be honest the only people missing were Guildarts, Jet and Droy but I just don't feel like typing out all their names as it isn't very relevant). The first person to finally approach Gray was none other than the blue cat with tears in his eyes, yea that's right Happy. He flew right over to him and gave him a rather awkward face hug.

Gray yanked him off his face the moment he felt snot touch his forehead and said "Nice to see you to body." Happy's reaction seemed to break the tension and before you knew the entire guild was giving him warm greetings or inquiring about where he had been with a few obvious exceptions. The Master was yet to move and Laxus merely acknowledged Gray's presence with a simple head nod. There was another person who hadn't greeted him and in his mind she was the most important person at the moment.

A scarlet blur caught Gray's eye. He turned to face the person who was the focus of his mind. He met her hazel brown eyes and began to take in all the subtle changes in her appearance. She cut her hair so that it reached her shoulders. She still had her bangs that would obscure one of her eyes. He spotted scar at the base of her neck that hadn't been there before. But the most startling change was undoubtedly her chosen attire. Unlike usual all she had on was a simple white t-shirt, a blue mini skirt and some white heels.

He thought that the simplistic look really suited her. It made her look less intimidating and… more feminine. She started walking towards him with the tiniest smile on her face. The members standing in her way cleared a path for her till she was directly in front of him.

"Erz-"He was cut off before he could say anything. By what you ask? Nothing less than the fist of Fairy Tail's strongest woman. The next he knew he was looking up at the scarlet beauty with an aching jaw. Not even Natsu's fist hurt that much even though all it did was knock him over, it seemed like her fist had more weight to them. Her eyes seemed to boring into his soul as she looked down on him. He suddenly regretted his previous thought about her being less intimidating. She was even more so now. Her words resonated like a trumpet and seemed to command the attention of the entire guild. Master Makarov who had been sitting quietly with his eyes shot finally seemed to take an interest in the situation. His eyes snapped opened and immediately locked onto Gray and Erza.

"You think you can disappear for months and then just stroll back in like nothing happened!" This is what Gray had expected and he was prepared to accept any criticism she had for him. He locked eyes with her and refused to look away. "How many years have we known each other! And yet it was so easy for you to leave us behind, to leave… me behind." Her tone softened and her eyes seemed to express hurt rather than anger. "So, so what do you have to say for yourself now Gray?"

Gray finally realised why Erza was mad. It wasn't that he had left for a long time as that was a common occurrence for wizards. It was that he had left everyone without so much as a goodbye. He left them without telling them if e would ever come back. With this realization Gray now knew what had to be said.

"I'm back, Erza."

She tackled him on the ground with a hug and for a moment he swore he saw tears in her eyes. But then she gave him a smile that seemed to make the world just a little brighter. There was a lot happening around. His guild mates were hitting on Cassandra who they had now become aware of and liquor was being poured as the mood shifted to that of a celebration.

While all of this was happening the master discretely signalled Gray to come over to him. He leaned against the bar counter that Makarov was sitting on. Only a very few of the uild members who weren't preoccupied with their own conversations noticed them. But everyone knew better than to butt in.

"Welcome home my son. I hope this trip of yours proved beneficial."

"It did Master. It's good to be back though."

"Hmm, I see you've quieted the beast inside. I am truly sorry that I was unable to help you when you were in such pain Gray." You could tell just how much he regretted it and how remorseful he was.

"There's no need to apologize master. It was unavoidable. But there's something else we need to talk about. I'm sure you can already tell." There elapsed a moment of silence that seemed to multiply the tension in the air. Makarov then let out a sigh.

"The Gods to think they would begin to stir after all this time. Most of them were in a deep slumber since before my time although I did come across one of them in my youth. Not a memory I'm very fond of I assure you… But to think multiple Gods would awaken at the same time. And even more mysteriously, what could they want with my children."

"Since you already know so much this makes it easier. I believe I know what it is they want from me its-"

"That can wait till after we've had our fun.."

"But master."

"No, no buts. Go. Have fun, enjoy yourself."

He then tapped Gray's shoulder and shoved him away so he could go socialize. Unbeknownst to Gray the master had actually stopped him from talking because of a magical tracker that had been placed on Gray by a certain female Goddess. Makarov opened up his balled up fist and a pink luminous sphere floated out. He looked at it like it was about to explode the crushed it in his fist.

Meanwhile in an unknown forest sitting on a high up tree branch was a gorgeous black haired beauty. "That damned old man. Now I can't see my precious Gray."

"And what is it that makes that boy so precious?" Out of nowhere a tall equally gorgeous blonde seemed to have materialised out of nowhere at the base of the tree. She wore genuine Greek garments. And adorned herself with a multitude of gold and diamond jewellery. She was dressed in a pure white sleeveless gown that hid her feet. This woman seemed to exuded the highest form of self importance.

"Oh Hera you startled me." Aphrodite giggled at the end of her sentence.

"Don't patronize me I asked you a question."

"What I do in my free time is no business of yours Hera. And neither is the person whom I choose to do it with."

"Let me warn you Aphrodite if you meddle in our plans I will destroy you. I trust that you will choose your side wisely."

"Now who's patronizing who? Hera, you know as well as anyone that love takes no sides."

"I'll hold you to that."

"Oh Hera as if I could be bothered by your plans to raise him. I have little interest in that boastful egotist."

"I truly hope that's true." Hera disappeared without a trace. (hehe no pun intended)

"God, these gods. All of them are so self important. But she does have a point. Maybe I should pick a side." The wondrous smile that would normally grace her lips was replaced by the devilish smirk of someone with a mischievous scheme in mind.

**As usual thanks for reading and leave a review on your way out. Much appreciated.**


	15. Scarlet

**Ok i know its shorter than usual but i jut had to type this scene out while it was fresh in my head. Oh and no need to worry Danish i'm not rushing. In fact i'm not nearly as far into the story as i would've liked. I'd say its like 1/8th of the story not counting the romance i'll sneak in. Now about my upcoming story THE SOUND OF MY HEART. I really need your help. So if your willing either PM me or review it doesn't matter i want you to tell me your choice for the main pairing. Like i said i want it to be Graylu or Grayza but i'm open to suggestions. So this is what i'd like you to do. When reviewing/PM type mp=(whichever ship you'd like 2 see as the main pairing, must involve gray) and so=(whichever other couples you'd like to see). I really want some feedback as i'm anxious to start a new story so plz, plz help me out. Thanks for reading my incessant rambling so hope you enjoy. **

Gray had no idea where he was supposed to go. After the party at the guild subsided everyone began to disperse themselves. Even Cassandra got to stay at Cana's. Its true Gray had his own place but he wasn't really in the mood to go there at the moment. After all it would be a total mess and he was pretty sure it wasn't good to sleep in that kind of environment. So there he was wandering around town with no place to go so naturally there was only one place he could think of. The one person he could impose on without a care in the world, Lucy.

So he headed for Lucy's house, admiring the scenery along the way. The street lights illuminated the roads and gave them a tranquil beauty. None more so than the street leading to Lucy's house with the canal. Gray had a lot of fond memories going to and from this lane and the water's surface bathed in light seemed to draw them out. He was so transfixed by the water that he hadn't been paying attention to where he was going not that you would need to at that time of night. Nonetheless someone ran right into him.

Gray, as well as said person were both knocked on their bums. Gray was about to tell the person off because if you think about it how was it possible to bump into someone in an empty alley but when he saw who it was the words immediately got caught in his throat. It was none other than Erza Scarlet.

"Gray!" "Erza!" They said simultaneously. "What are you doing here?" Again in total sync.

Erza let out a cute little giggle that made Gray blush for some reason. They both recounted the reasons as to why they were there. Gray saying how he was hoping to spend the night at Lucy's and Erza saying how she had just come from Lucy's. They began to make idle chatter about unimportant things and at some point they both ended up sitting at the water edge, feet dangling right above the surface.

It hadn't occurred to them how romantic the atmosphere was. The full moon shining down on them from above. The water twinkling line fine jewellery. Both of them sitting shoulder to shoulder enveloped in the stillness of the night. Neither of them anxious to disrupt the comfortable silence, till Erza finally spoke.

"Lucy told me." Gray wondered what she meant but then she continued. "She told me why you left… I'm sorry I hit you."

Gray let out an exasperated sigh. "What's with everyone. I'm the one who left and yet you're the ones who're sorry. It's really getting annoying." He turned to look her straight in the eyes. "So let me just say it once. Sorry Erza… I'm back." She had a gorgeous smile on her face and without realizing it Gray found himself leaning forward. His eyes locked with hers. But then she turned away.

She spoke with a sorrowful tone "You really have changed Gray. It makes me feel kind of old."

"Heh I know what you mean."

"Do you remember that day? The day you saw me at the river bank. That was the first time I felt like part of the guild. I really felt like you would always be there for me."

"Er-"

"But then you disappeared and I felt alone again. But things happened while you were gone and now I feel like I can finally open up to everyone…Well that's all I wanted to say." She got up and dusted her skirt off and walked away.

As she was walking away Gray felt as though she was walking away from him. Moving on while he stayed behind. Still just the same little kid chasing after her without a reason still stuck on his own inner riverbank. He sat there allowing the time to go bye and before he knew it he could see the first rays of the morning sun. He had stayed up all night. It was a new day and maybe the beginning of a new romance.


End file.
